Mickey
Stines
Earlier
this
year,
Letcher
County,
Kentucky,
was
rocked
by
the
shocking
shooting
death
of
District
Judge
Kevin
D.
Mullins.
The
same
day
as
Mullins’
death,
Letcher
County
Sheriff
Mickey
Stines
was
arrested
for
the
murder.
And
almost
immediately
rumors
began
swirling
speculating
exactly
what
was
behind
the
crime.
We
know
that
Mullins
and
Stines
ate
lunch
together
the
day
of
Mullins’s
death.
According
to
Kentucky
State
Police
(KSP)
Detective
Clayton
Stamper,
several
other
people
were
in
attendance
at
the
business
lunch,
and
one
overheard
Mullins
ask
Stines
if
they
needed
to
meet
privately
in
his
chambers.
When
Stines
arrived
at
the
judge’s
outer
office
he
told
those
gathered
there
he
needed
to
speak
with
Mullins
alone.
They
went
into
the
judge’s
inner
office
and
shortly
after
shots
rang
out,
and
Stines
surrendered
to
police.
There’s
also
a
disturbing
video
of
the
shooting.
The
surveillance
video
shows
Stines,
moments
before
the
shooting,
using
his
phone
to
call
someone,
then
using
Mullins’s
phone.
Stamper
testified
that
both
calls
were
made
to
Stines’s
daughter,
and
the
daughter’s
phone
number
was
saved
on
the
judge’s
phone.
But,
according
to
Stines’
attorney
Jeremy
Bartley,
misconduct
allegations
against
former
deputy
Ben
Fields
and
Mullins
are
“going
to
be
crucial”
in
Stines’
defense
—
he
has
pleaded
not
guilty
to
murder
of
a
public
official.
Three
days
before
Mullins’
death
Stines
gave
a
deposition
in
a
civil
case
brought
by
Sabrina
Adkins
alleging
women
under
house
arrest
were
extorted
for
sexual
favors
in
exchange
for
more
lenient
treatment.
According
to
the
complaint
in
that
case,
it
all
happened
in
Mullins’s
chambers.
“During
these
meetings,
Defendant
Fields’
behavior
escalated
from
flirtatious
comments
to
forcible
kissing,
to
oral
sex,
to
intercourse
with
Plaintiff,
all
of
which
occurred
at
the
Letcher
County
Courthouse
after
hours,
in
Judge
Mullins’
Chambers,”
the
complaint
says.
“Plaintiff
was
coerced
and
compelled
to
comply
with
Defendant
Fields’
advances
given
Defendant
Fields’
position
of
power,
and
because
she
could
not
afford
to
pay
for
the
ankle
monitor
and
did
not
want
to
return
to
the
Letcher
County
Jail.”
There
was
also
a
criminal
investigation
into
Fields’
actions
(earlier
this
year
he
was
convicted
of
rape,
sodomy,
perjury
and
tampering
with
a
prisoner
monitoring
device).
As
reported
by
Law&Crime,
Adkins
told
investigators
there
is
“videotapes
of
some
stuff
in
the
judge’s
chambers.”
And
that,
“I
seen
Judge
Mullins
having
sex
with
a
girl
…
in
the
judge’s
chambers.”
Adkins’
attorney
Ned
Pillersdorf
told
NewsNation
he
isn’t
surprised
Stines’
defense
is
going
to
involve
the
sexual
extortion
ring
detailed
by
Adkins
because,
“It’s
like
they
were
running
a
brothel
out
of
that
courtroom.”
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].